Website helps voters give Congress a double shot of anger

Have a beer, enter your number, rant at a member of congress. (Source: DrunkDialCongress.org)

(RNN) - The government shutdown and impending debt crisis, round-the-clock coverage of name-calling and finger-pointing, 800,000 federal employees out of work and no end in sight – it's enough to make the most devoted teetotaler want to order a double and get in somebody's face.

In the spirit of this dark hour, the website DrunkDialCongress.org invites all Americans, not just furloughed federal workers, to knock back a few drinks then give a random member of the House of Representatives a piece of their mind.

A Washington, DC mobile marketing and media company hit on the idea after the squabble between the branches of government dragged on and on. And on. And on.

"We think with the situation some humor needs to be added," said Keegan Goudiss, who is a partner with Revolution Media, the company that produced the website. "There are a lot of people who are mad and Congress needs to fix this. It's only going to get worse if they break through the debt ceiling."

Although the company leans left, Goudiss said they encourage angry voters of all political stripes to drink up and dial. Responsibly, of course.

Goudiss advised participants should be sober enough to accurately type their phone number into the appropriate field on the website. But they should be at least buzzed enough to really want to unload on the elected officials on the other end of the line.

"I would think you need to be at .08 (Blood Alcohol Content), he said. "Anything you can't drive with… That's a horrible comment to go on the record with - don't drink and drive. If you're drunk and driving and using the phone - that's all bad things. Don't do that."

Once you manage to type in your number, the process is completely automated, so you can focus all your energy on delivering your tirade.

You'll get a call with a message before you're connected to the Washington, DC, office of a randomly chosen member of the House of Representatives. If the line is busy, the call will redirect to a district office.

Goudiss claimed that back before C-Span began airing all sessions of Congress, there used to be a lot more drinking on the House and Senate floor. Television shamed our leaders into behaving.

"But maybe that's the problem. Maybe they should go out and have a few drinks to work this out," Goudiss said. "Two drunk people are easier to communicate with one another. And people might get things solved."

Perhaps President Barack Obama might even consider another beer summit.

DrunkDialCongress.com offers talking points and cocktail recipes - all sour drinks, of course. By noon of the first day, the website was making 1,000 calls an hour until the servers crashed.

"It's one of those rare moments that you have an idea that you think is hilarious and love and then other people think it's hilarious. Especially in D.C., you think you have great ideas and then someone says it's not," Goudiss said. "It's exciting that people love it."